The number is $24 billion. That is what Wells Fargo & Co. has lost in market value since March 2019. That is the month Tim Sloan left.
The bank still has no permanent chief executive. The search has dragged on for months.
No announcement is expected soon. Investors are feeling the pain. The bank’s share price has fallen 8% since Sloan’s departure.
Rival lenders held steady. Some even gained.
The gap is stark. For a bank already bruised by scandal, this vacuum is costly. The board of directors has been quiet.
Too quiet, say analysts. They have not been transparent about the selection process. They have interviewed multiple candidates.
Several said no. “The fact that people don’t want this job hurts the reputation of the bank,” Brian Kleinhanzl, an analyst at KBW, told the press. That is a blunt assessment from someone who follows the industry closely.
Why would candidates turn it down? The job comes with baggage. Wells Fargo is still recovering from a $2.09 billion fine paid to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The penalty was for actions tied to the 2008 financial crisis. The Justice Department said the bank deceived the Federal Housing Administration into insuring loans.
That is a serious charge. It sticks to the bank’s name. The board says it is being careful.
“They want to take as much time as it takes,” said one person familiar with the search. That person spoke on condition of anonymity. “They don’t want to make a hasty decision they might later regret.” That sounds reasonable.
But the cost of caution is mounting. Every month without a permanent leader is another month of drift.
Regulatory sanctions remain in place. The bank’s reputation is still damaged. Sloan left after a series of scandals.
Those scandals did not disappear when he did. They linger.
They make the CEO job harder to fill. They make the stock a tougher sell. The board has not provided a timeline.
Not even a hint. Investors are left guessing. Analysts are left speculating.
The silence is its own kind of signal. It suggests the search is not going smoothly.
It suggests the board is struggling to find someone willing to take on the mess. What happens next? The bank will likely continue to underperform.
That is the pattern since March 2019. The $24 billion in lost market value is not a static number.
It could grow. The longer the search goes, the more the uncertainty weighs on the stock. Other big banks have moved on.
They have leaders. They have plans. Wells Fargo has a vacancy.
The board is in a tough spot. They need to avoid repeating past mistakes.
But they also need to move. The market is not patient. Investors are not patient.
The bank’s own employees are likely not patient either. A permanent CEO would provide direction.
It would signal stability. Right now, there is none of that. Some experts say the board is being careful for good reason.
A bad hire would be worse than no hire. That may be true. But the current situation is not neutral.
It is negative. The bank is losing ground.
Its reputation is suffering. Its stock is lagging. The search has become its own story.
And it is not a good one. Wells Fargo needs a leader.
It needs someone to steer it through the regulatory challenges. It needs someone to rebuild trust. The board is taking its time.
The clock is ticking. The $24 billion is the price of the wait so far. It could get higher.
